Environmental News: Media Center

Our Expert Finder is a guide to the NRDC's environmental experts and
the issues that they cover in their work. To arrange for interviews
with or comments from any of our lawyers, scientists and analysts,
please contact the appropriate press officer. If you are not a member of the press, please write to us at nrdcinfo@nrdc.org or see our contact page.

NRDC Sues EPA to Force Action on Monarch ButterfliesWASHINGTON (February 27, 2015)—The Natural Resources Defense Council today accused the Environmental Protection Agency of dragging its feet on efforts to save the imperiled monarch butterfly and filed suit to force the agency to act.

China’s one-year ban on ivory imports is a big step forward – but more reform is neededNEW YORK (February 26, 2015) — In an important recognition of the role Chinese citizens’ appetite for ivory has played in helping to fuel the slaughter of African elephants, Chinese officials today announced a one-year ban on African ivory carving imports, effective today. A brief statement on the State Forestry Administration said it would halt administrative approval for ivory imports until Feb. 26, 2016.

KCBX, the company storing and handling the petcoke at two sites along the Calumet River, announced that it would close one site and remove piles from the other, but keep the second site operating indefinitely as a transfer facility to shift petcoke between trains, barges and ships.

BP, whose refinery in nearby Whiting, IN is a main source of petcoke being piled in Chicago, announced they would cease storing the material in Illinois.

NRDC: California Climate Plan’s Auction Results Show Carbon Caps Move Us Toward a Cleaner FutureSACRAMENTO (February 25, 2015) – The California Air Resources Board announced today the results of the first carbon auction with polluting fuels such as gasoline included under the cap. For the first time, the oil industry joined other major industries across California to bid on a limited number of pollution permits. This is a key component of the state’s law to reduce carbon pollution to 1990 levels by 2020

New Study: Rapid Ocean Acidification Threatens Coastal Economies in 15 StatesNEW YORK (February 23, 2015) – The first nationwide vulnerability assessment for ocean acidification, published today in Nature Climate Change, shows that coastal communities in 15 states that depend on the nation’s approximately $1 billion shelled mollusk (e.g., oysters and clams) industry are at long-term economic risk from ocean acidification. The assessment illustrates that vulnerable communities are not confined to the Pacific Northwest, which has been the primary focal point of attention and resources. Newly-identified communities at risk reside everywhere from Maine to the Chesapeake Bay to the Louisiana bayou.

Cleaner Electricity Will Be More Reliable, NRDC Expert SaysWASHINGTON (February 19, 2015)—The Obama administration’s plan to cut dangerous carbon pollution from power plants is “an opportunity to both reduce air pollution and to build a more reliable, modern energy system,” an expert for the Natural Resources Defense Council says.

Praising Pullman: NRDC Supports New National Monument DesignationsCHICAGO (February 18, 2015) – President Obama will be in Chicago tomorrow to sign an order designating the city’s Pullman District as a national monument. He is also expected to announce two other new monuments, Browns Canyon in Colorado and Hawaii’s Honouliuli Internment Camp.

Groups Support FERC’s Role in Enabling a Cleaner, More Efficient Energy SystemWASHINGTON (February 17, 2015) -- Twelve environmental and consumer groups–-including the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), Sierra Club, and consumer advocate offices in six states and the District of Columbia-–today urged the Supreme Court to hear an appeal of a lower court ruling that invalidated a cornerstone reform for a cleaner, more reliable, and customer-friendly electric grid.